A month since Royal Blood came back in style with the catchy and upbeat ‘Trouble’s Coming‘, the Brighton rock duo have released an official video for the single. The dark and hazy short film sees singer and bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher emerge through stormy and foggy surroundings to find beaten Kerr himself at the back of the yellow vintage Ford Cortina GXL, used last month to tease the new premiere.
The video is directed by Dir. Lx of the award-winning London-based production company Greatcoat Films. Dir. Lx is well known for his work with the likes of DC, Dave, Kojo Funds, Django Django, Bugzy Malone and many more. The filming crew has done an admirable job in recreating the ominous feel of the track, with subtle 80s visual influences perfectly backing up the disco-led single and recreating Kerr’s trouble in piecing up his blurry memories.
‘Trouble’s Coming‘ is the first new material from Royal Blood since their second record How Did We Get So Dark? came out in June 2017. Kerr and Thatcher are yet to reveal anything specific about their highly anticipated third studio album but have been sharing updates of recording and post-production throughout the whole year. In a recent interview for NME the frontman discussed the effect COVID and lockdown had on the whole process:
“The whole world had stopped. My plan was to not make music, but after a week I was itching to do something creative. It was very care-free and pure. As a result, it made for the two best songs on the record. ”
Kerr goes on to share interesting bits on the band’s decision to switch entirely into self-production and create an album that reflects the musicians’ influences and artistic ideas, and one that truly “encapsulates the change and progression that [they] made as a band and as people“. It sounds like ‘Trouble’s Coming‘ won’t be the only track that follows a new approach and incorporates fresh elements, and the third record will show a different side to the Brighton duo well known for explosive and groovy rock compositions.
It is surprising that Royal Blood are yet to land a top 40 commercial hit with a discography that boosts the double-platinum self-titled debut and its critically acclaimed follow-up, both of which managing to top the albums charts and earning them the global reputation as one of the most exciting modern rock bands in the world. So far ‘Figure It Out‘ is their only single that came close and peaked at #43 in the Official UK Singles Chart.
It would appear that ‘Trouble’s Coming‘ is slowly heading towards a personal record for the band, currently sitting comfortably at #46 after a somewhat slow two weeks in the chart, but receiving a significant boost with yesterday’s video premiere. Meanwhile, Kerr and Thatcher are going to appear on Lou Brutus’ hardDrive Radio show to answer questions and discuss the band’s future on 6 November.
We’re on @hardDriveRadio w/@LouBrutus 6 Nov to answer your questions about our new track #troublescoming. send us your @AskAnythingChat questions https://t.co/5dk0vpTgOB we’ll see you in 2 weeks
— Royal Blood (@royalblooduk) October 23, 2020
